


Dear Tony

by FeatheryMinx



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Happy Ending, i don't really know if this counts as hurt/comfort but hey, minor details may be changed, mostly?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 11:56:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17642324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatheryMinx/pseuds/FeatheryMinx
Summary: "Dear Tony", it began; and so his world began to fall apart





	Dear Tony

_Dear Tony,_

_I came into this relationship knowing that whatever we did, whatever happened, I would be there for you. I always was, before, and I always thought I would be, after. But now that we’re here, at after, I find myself struggling to stay true to that. Our relationship is over because I couldn’t handle being in a relationship with Iron Man at the same time. But by the time you get back from your meeting, by the time you find this, you’ll find that my stay at the compound is also over._

_I hate to use the cliche, but this truly isn’t you. This is me and my absolute inability to separate what were the best moments of us from this place. The other day, I couldn’t drink my tea, the spiced black one, because the scent reminded me of the time when we stayed up all night at the kitchen island, when I drank what could have been a gallon of it, and every time I got up to get another cup, you would try to make me laugh, to make me sit back down, to forget the tea and come be with you (and maybe, just maybe, if you could do that long enough, get me to go back to sleep). _

_Being here means being reminded of you every time I_ _walk through the doors, of how you smiled when we first saw the place; it’s being reminded of you every time I pass a marble counter, and recounting the way your hand rested on my lower back to guide me around the sharp corners; it’s being reminded of you every time I see one of the others’ eyes dim a little a second after they see me, after the second it takes them to remember._

_Tony, this is your compound. Your essence is intertwined through every single bit of it. That’s why I’m going back to the city, because being so thoroughly immersed in the things that made us us makes it hard for me to truly say that our relationship is over. I can get my own apartment there, live without being surrounded by our memories, and I can care for you from there. Do your great things, love, and know that even though I can’t be here, your best interests are still in my heart. I’ve still got your company, and I’ve still got you. Only now, from a distance._

_Love,_

_Pepper_

~*~

Tony read the letter once more, and then once again, before he carefully folded the paper back up and slid it into the envelope he found it in. His fingers drifted over the looped script of his name, and he found himself having to look up to the ceiling to stop a tear from spilling.

He’d made his choice though, and if this is what came with it, then he would just have to work with that. No matter how much ~~so much~~ he wished it could be different.

~*~

_“You just started a war”_

~*~

When Tony returned to the compound, Rhodey in tow, the first thing he saw was Pepper at the main entrance, waiting for them. She stood aside, saying nothing even though the worry was clear in her eyes, as Tony got Rhodey situated in his room.

When he finally finished with Rhodey, he turned around to face Pepper, only to find her down the hall, standing in front of the door to what was once their room.

“Tony, I-”

“Pepper. Pep. Before you say anything, can I just, can I say this? I’m done with Iron Man. Not entirely, I don’t think I could ever fully stop. But he’s, let’s say, on reserve, now. I’m not going to be only him anymore.”

At that, Pepper fixed an intense look on him. “You don’t have to do that. That’s not why I came here.”

“I know. But after everything that’s happened, I can’t say I care all that much about being Iron Man, being part of the ‘Avengers’ anymore.”

“Ah.”

With that, a soft silence descended on them, and instead of saying anything, Pepper pushed open the bedroom door. She walked over to the bed and sat down, letting her hands run over the impeccably made sheets. Tony, still too hesitant to sit with her, said, “You came back.”

Pepper smiled, something cautious, something hopeful. “For you, if you’ll have me.”

“You came back before you knew I had decided not to be Iron Man fully.”

“I did.”

“I- Why?”

“Because when I was here, I couldn’t drink my tea without being reminded of you, but when I was there, I found I didn’t particularly enjoy trying not to.”


End file.
